Announcing our Princess Pen Pal Program!

Learning to Read & Write… Made FUN!  Reading and writing are the building blocks for learning which is why we start working on these skills at such a young age.  These skills are more difficult for some to master than for others.  What if some of the “work” could be taken out of this and it could be made fun?  That’s our goal behind Your Princess Pen Pal Program!  We want to make learning to read and write fun and exciting!  We want to take it from being just homework and another task to something that they will look forward to doing!

For a limited time, you save 10% on the Princess Pen Pal Package of your choice!  Head on over to http://www.yourprincesspenpal.com and use code: NEWPENPAL to get your savings!

Bread-Clay Beads

        
From Martha Stewart’s Craft of the day!

A fun project for the kids – and you probably have everything you need in your kitchen right now!

Beads How-To:

To make the clay, kids can remove crusts from 3 slices of white bread. Tear bread into small pieces, and place in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of white craft glue and 3 drops of lemon juice. Mix it with your hands (apply cold cream to hands first) until it forms a workable ball. Add drops of paint to get the color you like; for multicolored beads, make batches of different colors and press gently together. For flat beads, roll or pat clay into a pancake; cut with a drinking straw or mini cutters (blow the beads out of the straw or cutter to keep from mangling them, above left). Shape spherical beads by hand. Let beads dry 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then make holes: For small holes, string beads onto 18-gauge wire, and leave them there until dry. For big holes, pierce beads with a straw. Let beads dry overnight, and then string.

Reading and Writing Made Fun!

Reading and writing.  For us grown-ups, this seems like something that naturally happens.  We don’t necessarily remember loving or hating it (unless of course we REALLY hated it).  I don’t even remember “learning” to read.  It’s something that I feel like I have been able to do forever.  Writing is a bit of a different story.  I vaguely remember handwriting tablets with their dotted lines.  I definitely remember learning to write in cursive (I loved how pretty it was!).  In between the reading and the writing, comes the spelling.  I remember getting new spelling words each Monday and having a spelling test each Friday.  I remember I always did well.  Spelling came easily to me (either that, or my type A personality of a first grader studied her behind off!).

Now that we’ve done it, do it, and know it, it seems effortless.  However, if you have young children who are in the midst of learning these skills, maybe you have been taken back to the days of sounding out, shaky pencils, and frustration that the rest of us have seemed to block out.

What if reading and writing could become exciting and fun for your little one.  Not easy.  It is still a learning process.  But practicing and learning does not have to be dreaded.  What if it was something that they looked forward to?  What is practice (which is supposed to make perfect), no longer felt like work or torture, but was something they got excited about?

Well, it is our goal and plan to give you a program that does just that!  We have all read the statistics about the importance of a good foundation in reading and writing and what it can mean for the long term.  So, let’s make this a little bit easier.  Let’s take the work out of it and give them something to get excited about and work toward!

Coming soon from A Fairy Tale Experience:

What would you like to see in a Princess Pen Pal Program?  Let us know!  We are ironing out the kinks and getting ready to grant access, but would love to tailor it to your needs and desires!

Repurposing Kids’ Art

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From MarthaStewart.com

For children, a giant roll of paper offers a seemingly infinite canvas. For you, it’s a way to keep their art contained (just roll it back up) but also on hand for later repurposing. Cut out large pieces of their abstract creations for gift wrap and smaller pieces for gift tags and greeting cards. Wrap votive candleholders and hurricane glasses with art, secured with double-sided tape. Or laminate a few rectangles at a copy shop for easy place mats that aren’t too precious to replace with the next masterpiece.

MALA drawing-paper roll, $5, ikea.com. Basic brush set, by Martha Stewart Crafts, $10, michaels.com. Crayola crayons, $2.50 for a pack of 24, crayolastore.com.

Bow-Tie Gift Wrap

(from MarthaStewart.com)

Bow Tie Wrap
Instead of gift-boxing a tie for Dad this year, why not tie a gift box? Bow ties fit around many small gifts, and both the traditional and pretied kinds will work. If Dad wears bow ties, a new “bow” can be an added present. If he prefers neckties, an inexpensive vintage bow tie can be used just for fun. Tie the bow around a gift box or two. For a fancier look, dress a wrapped box with ribbon before adding the tie. For a bottle of wine, wrap the length of a pretied bow around the middle a couple of times. This will tighten any slack, letting the tie’s smallest setting catch.

Father’s Day Cutout Frame

(From MarthaStewart.com)

How can kids spell out how much they love Dad on Father’s Day? By making him a paper picture frame using the letters of his name (DAD, natch).

The present will stand proudly on a desk or bureau with the assistance of bent paper clips. The photographs, trimmed to show kids’ faces, peek through the holes of the letters.

Frame How-To
Photocopy and cut out the frame template. Lay the template over lightweight card stock; trace with a pencil and cut out. Mom can cut out the middle parts of each letter. Trim photos to fit the openings, making them slightly larger than the holes; tape them behind the frame. To make the frame stand up, bend open two paper clips and tape the small sides to the backs of the letters at the very bottom.

FREE Personalized Father’s Day Card

Show Dad how much he means to you with a FREE personalized Father’s Day Card!

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Here’s how it works:

Go to our website.

Choose the card you like.

Email us with the card number and your pictures.

Don’t forget to give us your personalized text!

We will put it together for you and email you the finished product!

You can then get it printed wherever you like!

It’s that simple!